Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Acquires 14,190 Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its position in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 186,715 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,190 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of SM Energy worth $5,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,255,841 shares of the energy company's stock worth $48,676,000 after acquiring an additional 32,803 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in SM Energy by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,413 shares of the energy company's stock worth $4,512,000 after purchasing an additional 14,089 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in SM Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $256,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 33,392 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $22,059,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM traded up $2.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.83. 2,783,119 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,969,573. SM Energy Company has a one year low of $19.67 and a one year high of $48.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.72 and a 200 day moving average of $30.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 2.16.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.16. SM Energy had a net margin of 27.61% and a return on equity of 19.90%. The business had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $814.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. SM Energy's revenue was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.08.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St.